Using the train - 5

Now it is no secret that I'm not a fan of modern train travel. Yes, I prefer to take the Euro Tunnel train crossing as it is so much simpler and less time consuming than the ferry (and I'm not the world's best sailor). But for most long distance trips I would rather drive.

So it will come as no surprise that the events of last week have left me feeling even less disposed towards using the train.  The "new aircraft style" seats fitted to the modern high speed trains are the most uncomfortable items I have ever had the misfortune to park my backside on.  Cross Country Trains who run the service between Derby and Reading have the distinction of providing seats so uncomfortable that after last Wednesday's trip to Reading I ended up taking 2 days off work with severe pains in my hips and lower back.  My pain was so strong that it took me nearly 20 minutes to get from the bath to our bed on Wednesday night (a distance of 15 - 20 feet).  Sue was so concerned that she took me to see our GP before she went to work on Thursday morning.  I should have been on another day visit to work in the Reading office but instead I found myself laid out on the lounge floor for a good few hours (as advised by GP).

Today I returned to work.  It was an uncomfortable day but I got through it and excused myself from 2 of the 3 days I was expected to be down Reading way this week.  Thursday will be a site visit which I will drive as the train route involves at least 2 changes and I know my car is comfortable and that I can tailor the fit of the seat to suit my comfort level. 

Tonight I am more comfortable than at any time through the day.  I am resisting the temptation to consume pain killers and focusing on my posture.  If I can maintain this improvement I should be OK for Thursday.  I've an appointment for a massage tomorrow night after work which should help further.  Fingers crossed.

My camera lives

While the Nokia died in France my brand new Fujifilm F550EXR camera, specially purchased for the Normandy beaches trip, has survived. On returning home I removed the SD card and battery, left the compartment open, put the camera in the airing cupboard and abandoned it for 4 days. On fetching it out and reloading it the camera happily booted up into life and I quickly set about testing it.

How relieved am I? There is no evidence of moisture in the back of the screen (which was visible when I put it in there to dry out). Everything is as it should be, results are perfect and I'm a happy bunny. Rock on!

Nokia is dead, long live Galaxy S2

Saturday 21st was a busy and expensive day. First off I had to be "dad's taxi" to Andy as he's newly acquired BMW 3 series is on a SORN, and with him going off on holiday it will have to wait until he gets back to be tax for the road. I had to call in on mum to sort a few things out for her, then pick Andy up again, only to get a puncture on the way back home - so it's a quick turn about to go get that fixed.

Next up was a trip into town. My Nokia 5800 is dead (see my Normandy beaches posts) and both of our mobiles are out of contract. First we call in on T-Mobile where Adam is happy to spend time with us explaining the various tariffs and phones, but we are heading for Virgin (our current provider) and take our leave. Orange is next but the staff are too busy discussing last night's partying to pay us any attention. O2 is packed out so we cross to Virgin where we are greeted and minimal effort and interest is put into addressing our interest, so I ask for the PAC numbers for our phones so that we can move them. We are given a phone and told which buttons to push for the IVR service. After holding for 10 minutes I get through and get 2 PAC numbers. Sue wants to go to clothes shop so I head back into O2 (it's still packed) then Vodafone where I ask a female advisor about the tariffs on the S2 - £32 (pcm) is openly advertised but their best one is £36 (pcm). I say her logic is screwed up and that T-Mobile only want £26 for the same package that she wants £36 (pcm) for so she suggests I go to back to T-Mobile, and I don't need telling twice.

Sue finds me hanging around outside Vodafone and we walk back to pick up with Adam. We both sign up for The Full Monty 36 at £26 (pcm) and walk out with a black (me) and white (Sue) Galaxy S2 each. Now, ten days on we are both happy with our phones and the package offered - that has fixed our mobile phone expenditure for the next 2 years.

But the day isn't done as Andy wants to visit the local car breakers yard. We are only half a mile from home when a car going the opposite way flicks up a stone and I get a chip on the screen. After scouring the yard for the bits Andy needs with mixed success we return home and I ring my insurer, then Autoglass and an appointment is made for me to drop the car off at their office on Pride Park on Tuesday. That costs me £75 excess as the chip developed into a crack between Saturday and Tuesday. Bugger!

Normandy Beaches - summary

Was it worth it?  Yes, despite the rain.

Low points - the heavy rain at Ypres as we went out for a meal and then on to the Menin Gate for the last post, and, getting bitten to pieces in the night at B&B Hotels on the outskirts of Amiens.

High points - the accommodation at the Hortensia in Ypres and several sections of riding, mainly associated with dry roads and glimpses of the sun. 

Main disappointment was the standard of food which was basically "chips with everything" and everything was some sort of meat or fish.

I set out wanting to see for myself the D-Day site and how it is being presented to "today's generations". Well, there is information overload. Facts and figures are included in every display, in every automated presentation, in every guided tour. It is impossible to appreciate the extent of "fortress Europe" that the Nazis built until you see the bunkers and gun emplacements in person. Then you see how the bombardment by allied ships ripped into some of those bunkers and hear how some of the Hitler youth manning those positions simply gave up and surrendered - I can't say that I would not have done the same.

So would I do it again - no.  I don't need to.  I've been there, done that, ticked that box.  Now I have to come up with the next "must do" ride.  Tour the Alps?  Ride to the Nord Kapp?  Who knows?

Day8 - Saturday

Breakfast finished, bikes fully loaded and gear donned (including an extra "waterproof layer in the form of walker leggings) we bid our hosts farewell and set off on one of 2 routes Steve has prepared. Loaded in the sat navs we have a "Toll" and "non-Toll" route to Calais and we have selected the non-Toll route which is marginally longer but significantly slower estimated at 5.5 hours. We are expecting to run into heavy rain near Rouen and we are not disappointed, just north of Rouen it is almost heavy enough to have us pondering the scenic route but on reaching the decision point we decide to stick with it and a few miles later we ride out into dry but overcast conditions. So that was 25 miles of heavy rain and then the rest of the ride to Calais is drying out time.

Calais has always been kind to us but the new high security approach being adopted in preparation for the Olympics means that it takes us 35 minutes to get from initial queuing to boarding. Unusually we and the other bikers present are shown on first ahead of the cars. There are 2 BMW R1200GS ahead of us, 2 Harleys, a Ducati ST and a Goldwing trike behind us.

Our arrival at Folkestone is marked by a clap of thunder. We leave the shelter of the carriage and head to the Fuel station just a few hundred yards from the train, but that is enough to get us externally drenched. We fill the bikes and as I pull forward I say a brief goodbye to Steve and gun the Deauville off and away - I've made my mind up, I'm going to do this leg as quickly as possible. I catch up and pass the 2 Harleys as they chug along in the slow lane, then the trike and just before the M25 I pass the 2 BMWs. They catch me up as I wait at the toll for the Dartford crossing but once allowed through the barrier I don'r see them again. Emerging out of the tunnel the rain has gone and I start drying out, but by Toddington services I need a break and take 15 minutes off the bike. When I get back on there are still miles of "average speed cameras" to restrict my progress but once past Milton Keynes I return to high speed cruise mode which is maintained until I go onto reserve just north of Leicester Forest East. This means I have to reduce the cruising revs by 500 if I am to get home on the one tank of juice - I'd intended to fill up at ASDA and that's what I do. Two miles later I'm home, its 17:50, just 30 minutes after the Chunnel crossing we were supposed to take.

Total mileage Day8 = 457 miles.

Total trip mileage = 1,259 miles.

Day7 - Friday

The forecast for the day was for no improvement over those earlier in the week, some channels saying that Friday was to be the wettest we would experience. On that basis we had planned to spend the day locally in Arromanches visiting the 3 museums in the town and having a lazy time ahead of the long ride home that would be Saturday. Well it just goes to prove that weather forecasters know nothing and are about as useful as a chocolate tea pot when it comes to their predictions. We had the driest day of our visit with just a couple of very light showers. We first visited the museum owned and run by Hans (our B&B host) with the elder of his 2 sons. It is a very intimate museum dedicated to WW2 veterans that Hans and his family have met and befriended over the years, with many personal stories, memorabilia, artifacts and accounts of their D-Day landings and their march to Paris and beyond. One of the displayed articles is a very rare American D-Day parachute as these were a single use item which was discarded and then frequently collected and cut up by French peasants to make under garments, night clothes and shirts.

Walking to the main square the "tourist train" (another dressed up tractor with dressed up carriages) was ready to leave so we jumped on boarded and got off at the first stop, the German emplacement on the top of the cliffs to the east of the town where there is a another museum with a 360 degree projector. While waiting for that main show we watched news reel footage taken and shown at the time of the encounter and in the post-war era as propaganda for folks back in England. Again there are static displays to wander around.

Last on the list was the main museum on the side of the square where large displays show off hand made models that recreate scenes from D-Day 6-June through to August 1944. There are mannequin displays, personal accounts and all sorts of stuff from the landing including guns, a mine and replica landing craft. While we were there we watched a "slide show" style presentation of the events of D-Day with a school party who were there doing the same Normandy Beaches type trip that we were doing - I can't however imagine that they got as wet as us riding around in their grand coach. Indeed, we were pleasantly surprised just how many school trips we encountered (along with those of veterans and their families) of all nationalities. This museum was laying on these shows with commentary in a number of languages with showing to suit the nationalities of the coach load in the museum at the time.

All 3 museums visited are worth their admission charge but you wouldn't get a coach load into Hans's museum, it's not that size nor aimed at that sort of audience. Veterans and family parties would best appreciate it and anybody researching that era would be well advised to give it a look, especially if Hans is on the desk and has time to regale all the personal stories that have yet to be written down for others to appreciate.

With the museums visited we walked out to one of the sections of the Mulberry harbour that has been pushed closer to the shore by coastal storms. Following the end of WW2 much of the steel used in the harbour constructions was reclaimed, along with all the ships that were sunk to provide a breakwater and safe haven for unloading materials needed to support the war effort. Those that remain today are mostly units that were damaged and with high concrete content that made recovery uneconomic. The tide was out so we walked out to the one nearest to the Arromanche beach to have a gander and take some snaps, and get caught in yet another short, sharp shower. We retreated to The Normandie, a hotel & restaurant that we'd discovered did excellent cups of "English" tea along with assorted snacks or a la carte menus.

We then retreated to the B&B for a few hours to start packing and loading stuff onto the bikes before venturing out to dine at 6 Juni for our last evening meal out in France. In spite of what had been forecast this had turned out to be the driest day of the trip even though we hadn't benefited from it by riding the bikes.

Total mileage Day7 = 0 miles.

Day6 - Thursday

It rained all last night. It was still raining when we awoke this morning, and after breakfast. So it was a good job that we had planned that today would be a day off the bikes. Instead we walked the few hundred metres to the beach front and bought ourselves a small umbrella at 7 euros each in the hope of some protection from the incessant rain. The plan was to catch the local service bus from outside the post office (a short walk away) to Bayeux and to visit the sites there, including the Notre Dame cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry.

So we did just that, arriving in Bayeux around 11:15 we walked to the Tourist Information Office, boarded the shuttle “train” (a dressed up tractor towing some equally dressed up carriages) and took the ride to the American War Museum were we watched a documentary film and shuffled round the exhibits before leaving for the nearby memorial and cemetery to the British dead of WW2. We then walked back to Notre Dame and around it before finding a café for lunch at around 13:30. We were now close to the TIO so we boarded the shuttle again and rode to the Bayeux Tapestry, jumping of at a convenient stop sign as pre-arranged with the driver. We joined the crowd seeking shelter from the rain, meandering round the tapestry before a quick walk to the bus stop for the return trip, getting back to the B&B around 16:15. As the weather is set to continue raining through the night and into tomorrow we ate in a local hotel bar and turned in for an early night.

Total mileage Day6 = 0 miles.

Day5 - Wednesday

The morning started promising, but then while we had breakfast it turned and by the time we left our accommodation it was raining steadily, getting heavier and at about 20 miles out we considered turning back but gladly we didn't and the ride down to Le Mont de Saint Michel was really enjoyable with a good mix of roads including some dual carriageway. However, with just a kilometre left to reaching our destination the heavens opened and we got drenched. I don't know what it is about motorcycle clothing but no mater how waterproof it say it is, or, how much you pay for it, it ALWAYS leaks at some point. My Dainese trousers are pukka Gore-Tex and they still leak. I think the problem is that the material is breathable AND waterproof, but not at the same time. The legs do not give me any issues, it is always the arse, my bum gets wet. At the start of the ride we did 25 - 30 miles in steady, heavy rain and not a leak anywhere, but that short sharp downpour got through the front of my jacket and gave me a damp belly and my arse got wet.

No sooner had we arrived at Le Mont de Saint Michel than the sun came back out and the wind got up, so after walking to the shuttle bus and crossing to the mount, we were almost dried out. Walking the mount and around the abbey worked up a sweat which got blown away on the way back to the new retail area where we snacked in a supermarket snack bar before returning to the bikes. We had decided to make a diversion into Saint-Lo on our return trip because we had heard how so much had happened there after the D-Day landings so naturally we expected there to be something there of interest. Nope. Not a thing. We stopped at the Tourist Information Office and enquired. Saint-Lo has moved on and WW2 is behind it, which I believe is probably a good thing for them but today, not for us. No matter, we rode on getting back and our bikes in the garage just before the rain briefly returned.

So what of Le Mont de Saint Michel? It is very impressive. Considering it is in the middle of an estuary surrounded by marshes and sandy / boggy ground it is an engineering marvel. Several thousand tons of stone imported and crafted into a walled fortress with ramparts, houses, paved / cobbled streets, steps all the way up into the abbey, and the vaulted ceilings, multiple levels, grand halls, towers and everything all built before the age of mechanisation. Their only mechanical assistance a huge wheel in which men would walk to wind up or down a winch to bring materials into the abbey. One hall has two magnificent fireplaces side by side with a single enormous chimney breast behind which are two equally massive chimneys - each one would have consumed a 10 - 15 foot long tree trunk on a regular basis and that would have had to be brought on horse drawn cart from miles away and then winched up into the abbey.

So all considered it was a worthwhile and enjoyable trip which would have been better if we'd had less rain to contend with.

Total mileage Day5 = 150 miles.

Day4 - Tuesday

The Fawlty Towers farce continues....

Breakfast at 08:00 as requested. A bottle of orange juice, some fresh bread, a couple of croissants, some butter, cheese and jam / marmalade with pot of tea. For 6 euros a head. We were expecting toast (they don't have a toaster) with eggs and bacon to set us up. But we had some juice, a cuppa, some bread, butter and marmalade. Hmmm...

Never mind, at least the bikes were still in the garage and it wasn't raining although showers were (again) forecast. We'd been lucky on the ride down from Amiens with only a couple of short / sharp showers so the prospect of a fully dry day brightened our spirits as we set off for the various war grave / battle / monuments sites. As usual, routes loaded into sat navs are followed, but crucially I'd had to search out a fuel station which meant that my unit had done a route recalculation. This we learnt when we found ourselves on a farm track - unpaved road with muddy puddles and grass growing down the centre of the single track "road". We emerged the other end and resorted to using Steve's with the original route and keeping our eye's open for a fuel station, which we duly found.

The American War Graves site was our 3rd stop of the day and it is very impressive. Superb roadway leading to it, landscaped parking areas, new reception area (completed just 5 years ago) with underground "bunker" for displays and then a free guided tour that took an hour and filled our heads with WW2 knowledge (mainly of the dead) - all after the rigorous "airport style" security check at the entrance to reception. Just who do they think will want to blow up the dead? Anyway, from there we had no problems with the sat navs, both of which behaved themselves and stuck to the original planned route. We rode on all sorts of roads, from the afore mentioned track to dual carriageway "motorway standard" roads and with so many stops I lost count. Everywhere we stop we find people just want to chat. English, Canadian, American, Irish, Belgian, Dutch and even the French (who just love the fact I attempt to converse with them in French) are all so friendly, and other bikers too. In fact, it is only the people in their motorhomes that don't seem to mix and join in, keeping their own company or that of other like minded motorhome people.

We closed today with a meal in another establishment in Arromanches where I had fish and chips and Steve had steak and chips, both of us having profiteroles with chocolate and cream for desert. We then went and did a little exploring before turning in for the night.

Total mileage Day4 = 90 miles.

Day3 - Monday

Yesterday it struck us just how quite small town rural Belgium and France is on a Sunday. Well today was Monday and it was still pretty quiet. After a continental breakfast we packed the bikes and hit the road, except the sat navs weren't ready to play ball so we went around the houses on a little detour until they settled down and agreed on a route for us to follow, only it wasn't the route we'd loaded (again) as they had both recalculated us onto a peage (toll road) so we went on and dived off at the first exit, paid our 1.60 euros and reloaded the routes. With everything sorted we got back on our original route, wending our way down to the coast, through Deauville and onto the D614 to Arromanches les Bains. Simply because I ride a Deauville I have always wanted to visit the place so we stopped briefly to take some photos before riding on. Now I've been there and seen it I can summarise (and as I said to Steve) Deauville says "money" but it doesn't say "welcome". In that aspect it is very disappointing.

Arrival at Arromanches saw us tired after a long day in the saddle. We'd stopped at a little place at lunchtime for a "burger & chips" snack but the volume of camper vans / motorhomes / RVs on the road had really slowed progress and tried our patience. So when we turned up and found that the garage and wifi we'd insisted upon when booking were not available in the accommodation allocated to us we made it clear that we were far from happy. Additionally there was no radio or TV so we couldn't even check the weather forecast. We must have got the message across because Hans took us back to their first property (family home) and cleared out the garage to make room for the bikes and put us into rooms there. Not perfect but an improvement on the original situation.

After unpacking our stuff and having a shower, refreshed we walked down to The Bistro for a meal. Keeping things short - it took nearly 1.5 hours for them to prepare our meal except it wasn't, it was somebody else's, so we had another wait while they prepared what we had ordered. Others were walking out because the waiting staff were taking too long to take orders or food was taking too long to arrive. We didn't have a desert deciding to turn in for the night instead.

Total mileage Day3 = 186 miles.

Day2 - Sunday

We were up, bikes loaded and ready waiting for breakfast for 08:00 as agreed the previous night, starting promptly we were spoilt for choice and ate our fill. Also as arranged they had made up packed lunches for us (for a small and reasonable charge) which enabled us to be on our way just before 09:00. We managed about 3 kilometres before the heavens opened and dumped a serious amount of rain on us. In the main our gear withstood the onslaught except the "waterproof" pockets on my jacket, one of which part filled with water putting my mobile phone out of action and affecting (to a lesser degree) my newly purchased Fujifilm camera - which now appears to have dried out with no ill affects - only time will tell. But my Nokia is dead.

The ride from Ypres to Amiens managed to get progressively drier after the aforementioned wet start so that we called at the variously planned war graves and memorial sites to read the accounts that lead to their creation and remember the fallen and those that died for our freedom. We ended up a bit "war graved out" (like overdosed) but that is what we came to do. The riding is (weather aside) quite remarkable with long straight roads and curving twisty roads in almost equal measure. Road surfaces are generally very good or excellent with only occasional poorly maintained sections (which are frequently better than those in the UK). As much as possible we are avoiding Le Peage (toll roads) and motorways but the Garmin sat navs have a mind of their own and despite us having loaded identical routes prepared and downloaded by Steve, we still end up with them giving different turning instructions and routes to selected sites. They remind me of shopping trolleys.

The accommodation in Amiens was at a B'n'B Hotels place close to the Premiere Classe that I used last year. Having checked in we went for a walk to find somewhere to eat and finally selected a Chinese restaurant where we had an excellent 3 course buffet meal and drinks for a very reasonable 50 Euros (including tip). However I have to add that it is very strange being a Brit, conversing with a Chinese in French as well as my command of French will allow, but everyone had a laugh and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Less can be said of the night sleep where I was rigorously attacked by "bed bugs" or some such alien force because I had a disturbed night being bitten and today I've had to burst a number of the bites as a release from their constant bother, but that's for day 3.

Total mileage Day2 = 111 miles.

Day1 - Saturday

Bike packed and loaded final checks showed the odometer reading 44,500.0 miles so calculating the overall trip distance is going to be easy at any stage in the journey. It's 06:30 and I've already said goodbye to Suzie as she'd an early start for a day trip to Blackpool. The forecast for her day is sunny and dry, but mine is sunshine and showers. Well it is starting off OK, the sun is shining in an almost clear sky and it's time to be on my way so I thumb the starter button, snick the bike into gear and I'm off. The trip down to J10 of the M20 is uneventful and barely memorable other than for the propensity of "average speed cameras" - the south of England seems to have a love affair with them.

I roll up to the Tesco superstore at J10 where Steve and I had arranged to meet and he's already there. I've done 196 miles. We have a bacon sarnie and a mug of tea/coffee before departing for the Channel tunnel just 8 miles up the road, arriving to find that there is a delay of half an hour due to problems earlier in the day. That means we face a wait of nearly 2 hours having arrived hoping to hop on an earlier departure, but the staff are having none of that as they try to clear the backlog.

Arriving in France we set of for Ypres, which should have been via Dunkirk but both of our sat navs have other ideas and so that gets dropped from the itinerary, so Ypres it is and as we head inland the rain starts. We locate the Hortensia B'n'B but we are way early so head off to The Sanctuary and Hill 62, before returning and checking in. The rain is getting heavier but we decide to walk into the centre to eat and see the Last Post at the Menin Gate. We are soaked through when we walk into Le Trompet but we wait just minutes to be guided to a table next to a couple from Devon who are tucking into stew that looks so good we both order it. Fabulous, as was the desert.

The rain eased while we ate but returns with a vengence just as we are about to leave, but if we are to see the Last Post then there's nothing for it, so we get a damp again. We have missed much of the ceremony as we arrive at 19:50, but there is a big crowd and can't see anything from the back, but we don't need to, the Last Post is the Last Post wherever you are. This one is obviously very moving for some of those present as I spot quite a few tear filled eyes. With it done we walk up and onto the ramparts and walk back to the Hortensia B'n'B. It's still tipping it down and we are both knackered so even though it's not yet 21:00 we go to our rooms and hit the sack. Minutes later I am out for the count, it's been a long day.

Heavy rain wakes me a few times through the night but sleep soon returns. Here's hoping it blows itself out before we depart, but right now there's a breakfast to be consumed - and we are spoilt for choice.

Total mileage Day1 = 265 miles.

R12000GS v Explorer v Crosstourer - Update

I bought the magazine last month to find that the video article had made it into print. So, as I'm long overdue a change of bike, I visited a local dealer with a R1200GS in the showroom. Ever helpful the salesman pulled it out and I attempted to get on it. Hmmm.... Well I eventually managed to climb onboard but it is not an exercise I'd like to repeat on a daily basis. The riders seat was in the lowest position and once on the thing I could just get both feet down, allbeit on tippy toes. But getting on in my normal manner was out of the question. No way could I throw my leg over the pillion seat to mount the thing, the pillion seat is a good 4 inches (old money) higher that the rider seat and I'm just a 29" leg. What a shocker? At last year's NEC Motorbike show I got on and off a "low seat model" with no trouble at all.

So I think I'll try a Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere sometime, see if that's any better fit and easier to mount. If it's good enough for Nick Sanders to ride 35,000 miles in a single trip it will easily cope with my more moderate demands. That'll be sometime over the winter (maybe) as I intend to sell the Passat and get a smaller, cheaper car releasing some cash to spend on a replacement for the Deauville.

Damned rain

Rain, rain and more damned rain. Not what I'd ordered for the Normandy beaches trip but hey ho, you takes what you gets and you get on down to it.  Considering the number of wet days we have had over the last few months today was only the second wet ride to work on the motorbike.  Most of my gear seems to do what it said on the label - "waterproof" - but the Gore-Tex trousers still seem to allow my bum to get moist.  So much so that in the morning I think I'll pull on some over-trousers just to ensure I arrive in France nice and dry.

Yesterday I finally managed to get the bike-to-bike ear pieces in my helmet so that I was comfortable.  Left ear piece went straight in, no trouble, but the right ear speaker kept pinching my ear.  I ended up cutting out a sliver of polystyrene liner and now all is well.

Tonight I just have to fill the tank, pack my clothes and toiletries, and put the sat nav in its mount.  Excited?  Yup!  Nervous?  Yup again!

Normandy beaches

It is getting closer.  Departure for this motorbike trip in the company of my mate Steve is early Saturday morning.  Paperwork is all done.  Bike is as prepared as I can get it without stripping it down and rebuilding it (that will have to wait until this coming winter).  Euros have been purchased.  Sterling to be withdrawn tonight.  Bags to pack tomorrow night.  Then load up and go, planning to leave around 06:30 Saturday.

Should meet up with Steve before Euro Tunnel, then once across in France we will be heading for Ypres, then Amiens, before heading to our main base in Arromanches-les-Bains.  I just hope we get some good sunny weather for riding in.

Settling down

Last week I took the car to Reading and after work I visited Mark & Eleanor at their new home together in Egham.  Their place is a lovely ground floor maisonette on the outskirts of Egham leaving Eleanor with a driving commute to her work while Mark walks to Stains bus station to get the shuttle bur into his work at Heathrow.  Eleanor gets up early to beat the traffic and Mark has a lie in until she's done and gone.  He then gets home about 3/4 hour after her so the evening meal is usually almost done cooking (except Mondays when she shops and he cooks).  Seems to me that they have life sorted.

Now, if only I can get Suzie trained....

Using the train - 4

Tuesday was another round trip to Reading on the train.  The previous week I used my car, leaving home at 06:15 just as I do when using the train I was signing in at 08:50 and was free to leave when I liked (fitting around my workload) whereas this week the train arrived in Reading at 09:11 and I signed in at 09:25, leaving at 17:10 to arrive at Derby station at 20:04 (2 minutes ahead of schedule).

So not only do I not enjoy using the train the overall journey times are longer (door to door) and cheaper overall to both me and my employer.